Maylily - Chapter 82

Time passed quickly, and it became the day of the Count of Everscourt’s birthday party.

Maylily prepared one art song and one aria each to add fresh vitality to the party. She wasn’t nervous because she was confident, having prepared with such care. Rather, her heart thumped with excitement at standing on stage again after so long.

Around the time the sunset began to redden, she started getting ready to go on stage. For her stage outfit, she chose a blue evening dress that created an elegant mood with a silk skirt and thin, delicate lace. It was the most glamorous dress among the clothes she had fitted in Prowden.

Because it was difficult to change and fix her hair alone, Maylily told Alice that she would be performing at the evening party and asked for help.

“If something like that happened, you should’ve told me sooner.”

After hearing that this was Vivian’s plan, Alice looked at Maylily with worried eyes.

“Lady Cheshire said she wanted to prepare a surprise performance. I thought that sounded good too…. I didn’t hide it with any other intention. I’m sorry if you felt hurt.”

“That’s not what I meant….”

Alice trailed off, feeling awkward.

Lately in Prowden, rumors were slowly spreading that the Count of Everscourt and Vivian Cheshire were engaged.

And that woman asked Maylily to perform.

Since Alice knew what kind of gaze Vivian Cheshire had always directed at the Count of Everscourt, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling. But bringing it up now would only plant needless anxiety in Maylily, who would soon go on stage.

“I only said it because it’s a shame I couldn’t get glamorous accessories in advance, so don’t worry about it. Sit down. I’ll do your hair.”

“This is pretty enough too. Please take care of me, Miss Curren.”

Maylily, who didn’t know what was happening outside this forest, smiled brightly at Alice.

It was a relationship that would end this summer. Even so, Alice couldn’t help but care about that smile.

Alice knew that whenever rare foods came up on the dining table, Maylily would set some aside for her before eating.

Even the way she showed kindness was humble and polite. And yet her attitude toward people was sincere without pretense. Seeing someone so clear trapped under the Count of Everscourt’s shadow, anyone watching couldn’t help but feel sorry.

Swallowing a heavy sigh, Alice stuck a pearl pin into Maylily’s neatly rolled-up blonde hair to finish the styling. This was the only kind of help she could give Maylily, so she poured in everything she could.

By the time Maylily, who greatly admired Alice’s skill, put on the white silk gloves that covered her elbows and finished getting ready, a maid Vivian sent arrived.

“Miss Vivian said to escort Miss Aile to the banquet hall.”

Alice checked Maylily’s clothing once more as she was about to leave the bedroom. A pleased smile naturally bloomed at the flawless, beautiful appearance she had made with her own hands.

“Go and enchant all the party guests with your voice, Miss Aile. That’s the mission I’m giving you.”

“I’ll definitely succeed! Thank you.”

Answering Alice with an innocent smile, Maylily headed to the main house, following the maid.

***

Hugh Skaard’s birthday party, held in Prowden’s banquet hall, was a party with perfect formality and dignity. Since it was the first party where he stood as the main figure after inheriting the title, its scale and meaning were even greater.

It was around the time the party was heading toward its midpoint that Maylily Aile appeared among the people dressed in evening coats and dresses. Guided by an attendant, she stepped onto the stage, but it was a shabby entrance, like a guest who had sneaked in.

Quietly watching her, Vivian moved to a spot where she could see the stage and Hugh well. She had no intention of officially introducing an unknown singer unfit for the dignity of the distinguished guests.

Alright, let’s see.

Vivian wanted to see Hugh’s reaction to Maylily’s unannounced appearance as soon as possible. With a face like an audience member waiting for a play’s curtain to rise, Vivian stared at Maylily.

Maylily looked troubled as she watched the people who continued their conversations without even glancing at the stage. Then she went to the piano accompanist and whispered something. And when she stood again at the center of the stage, the performance began.

Even the crowd, indifferent to the performance until then, grew quieter when Maylily sang the first line.

I walk the blue night of heaven with you.

That was also when Hugh’s gaze, as he spoke with business associates, reached Maylily. He paused for an instant, but his face, with eyes curved softly, showed no change.

I whisper love into eyes where moonlight flows.

A voice as clear and transparent as dew rode the chandelier’s sparkling light and stretched farther and farther. In an instant, the banquet hall filled with a beautiful resonance. The murmurs died down, and admiring eyes turned toward the stage one by one.

Under a sky full of starlight, I vow eternity.

Each time Maylily, standing at the center, moved in time with the lyrics, the hem of her blue dress swayed softly and glittered as if scattering starlight. With the mysterious atmosphere that sight created, she looked like a fairy of the night.

The joy of love etched into this night,

Will shine bright even in any darkness.

When the song that captivated everyone in just a few minutes ended, Vivian realized it.

That Maylily Aile was Hugh Skaard’s precious jewel. That he cherished it so much he didn’t want to show it to anyone, and wanted to look at it alone.

No matter how indifferent Hugh’s expression was, once Maylily sang, it was impossible not to know.

“Is that woman the Count of Everscourt’s singer?”

“I heard she’s a chorus member, but her skill is better than most prima donnas, isn’t it? They two…. Maybe they really are, a pure patron relationship.”

“If you look at it that way, doesn’t that woman’s looks stand out too much? Look at the men over there. Isn’t the Count of Everscourt ultimately a man like them too?”

Everyone around her talked about Maylily and couldn’t take their eyes off her.

It wasn’t as if Vivian hadn’t considered this possibility. Even so, the disgust and humiliation she felt at what was happening before her eyes were beyond what she imagined. She couldn’t leave Maylily as tonight’s leading lady.

“Vivi.”

“Brother.”

Patrick, Vivian’s brother, approached just as Maylily’s second song began.

He arrived in Prowden with the Marquess of Cheshire to match the opening ceremony of the new Skaard Hotel branch. With the Marquess returning early to Roden over business matters, Patrick was acting as the family’s representative here.

“Seeing your expression right now, it seems like I should step in.”

“Please, Brother.”

Vivian answered concisely. The plan had already been shared before coming to the banquet hall, so there was no need for many words.

“Drink this and loosen up. If you want to be the perfect main character, you’ve got to smile prettily.”

After handing Vivian a glass of champagne, Patrick moved away, his gaze turning toward the woman on stage.

He didn’t say much in front of Vivian, but it was a familiar face. The woman who had sung quite cutely at the club last time. The one he’d thought he might take along and have some fun with.

“If you need a woman to play with, call for a courtesan instead of a singer. Don’t invite me to such lowly gatherings.”

So was that why the lofty monk stepped in that day, because that woman caught his eye? Or maybe something already existed between the two even then.

Contrary to some suspicions in social circles, it seemed Hugh Skaard wasn’t asexual or a sodomite. For Vivian, who would have to share a bed with him from time to time to produce an heir, it was, if anything, fortunate.

He didn’t intend to get revenge for what happened at the club. He only wanted to help restore his sister’s pride a little. And it wasn’t as if he had no desire at all to see the wounded face of the insolent woman who had coldly rejected him.

Moving behind the stage, Patrick slowly swept his eyes over Maylily’s back as she sang and let out a sneer.

In the heated atmosphere, the second piece also ended without issue. In the flood of encore requests, Maylily gladly performed an additional song.

She couldn’t find the Count of Everscourt in the crowd filling the banquet hall, but he must have heard. Her song, and the thunderous cheers and applause of the people who heard it.

It was when Maylily, greeting the audience modestly, came down from the stage while reining in her overwhelming feelings.

“Hello, Miss Aile.”

A man with reddish-brown hair blocked her path toward the entrance. It was Patrick Cheshire. Seeing Maylily flinch in surprise, he gave an unpleasant smile.

“…Hello.”

“You’ve gotten prettier in the meantime. Looks like Hugh’s been showering you with affection.”

It was a delinquent tone, as if he was teasing her now that he knew the relationship between Hugh and Maylily. Maylily pressed her lips together, but he didn’t care and continued.

“Hugh asked me to introduce you to the guests. A lot of them were impressed by your singing and want to talk to you.”